1. Field of Application
This invention relates to devices and surgical procedures utilized for holding a stentless heart valve prosthesis during implantation.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Heart valve replacement is required when a patient's heart valve becomes diseased or damaged. Surgically-implanted hearted valve prostheses have extended the life expectancy of many patients who had defective natural valves. Such prostheses can be either mechanical or biological (mitral or aortic). The aortic prosthesis is implanted in the patient during a surgical procedure in which a segment of the aorta nearby the natural valve is slit open so that the malfunctioning valve can be removed and replaced with the prosthetic valve. The prosthetic valve must be held in place while the surgeon sutures or attaches the prosthetic heart valve to the annulus of the heart. Holding the implant in place while the surgeon places the sutures to attach it to the interior of the patient's aorta presents a difficult problem, due to the limited amount of space in the heart it is difficult to properly position and suturing the valve at the site of the annulus. To aid the surgeon during the implant procedure, it is known to use both disposable and non-disposable holders to position the valve during surgery. However, the known valve holders are large and cumbersome. These known valve holders are also unwieldy and obstruct the surgeon's view.
During this surgical procedure, the heart is typically stopped, and the patient put on heart/lung bypass. The longer a patient is required to rely on the artificial heart/lung bypass to maintain vital functions, the greater the stress on the patient. Thus there is a need to simplify the suturing of the heart valve prosthesis to the aorta in order to minimize both the length of surgery and the amount of time spent on heart/lung bypass.
Bioprosthesis from animal donors, such as those made of equine tissue, are flexible and are often supported by mechanical stents. A typical stented heart valve is disclosed in Duran, Reed Valve for Implantation into Mammalian Blood Vessels and Heart with Optional Temporary or Permanent Support, US 2005/0055079 A1. However, such stents occupy space within the aorta of the patients and may produce undesirable turbulence. Thus, there is a need to improve the suturing of a stentless heart valve prosthesis. Further, the positioning and alignment of the valve prosthesis to closely match that of the natural valve requires precision suturing.
The lack of a stent and easily pliable tissue material makes implantation of stentless valve difficult and time consuming. The stentless valves are very pliable and suturing and adequate positioning of the valve is very difficult. Several assistants are usually needed to holder the stentless valve in position with fingers, forceps or hemostats. This procedure is awkward for both the assistants and the surgeon performing the suturing. It is clearly advantageous to perform the valve surgery quickly as possible and to ensure symmetrical suturing and accurate placement of the prosthesis.